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Races of Phaeselis
The following information is very much useful when creating characters in a Phaeselis campaign. Unless otherwise mentioned, use the core rules for all character creation details. As always, the DM is the final arbiter of what is allowed in your game. There are three types of races in Phaeselis. Dominate Races, Major Races, and Minor Races. Dominate Races are high enough in population to break up into Nations, Creeds, or Peoples. These include the Humans, who are the most diverse group of people; and the elves -- who are divided into nations mainly by Ideology. Major Races are those who are populous enough to affect the politics of a region but have a largely homogeneous culture. Sometimes two or three nations represent them. Minor Races are those with too small populations in the region, have homogeneous cultures, and are mostly affected by the politics of one of the Dominate Races. Dominate Races Humans Humans are represented by four dominate cultures in the City. The Hellenes — which is an analog to the Ancient Greeks after the City State Era. The Phoenicians — which are a mirror of ancient Hebrew culture; the Vedic Aryavartans — which are represented by Indian culture. And finally the Archemeniad — which is represented by Ancient Persian culture. There are a smattering of other cultures in the city of course. :) This is the humans’ planet, so all humans tend to be slightly Ethno-Racist as a whole. Humans from mixed marriages are called Mixed Men. Elves There are four individual cultures of elves. The Elves of Phaeselis, like the orcs, dwarves, halflings, and gnomes; are from another world. All elves are working towards recreating Arvandor, the first forest. Despite being "aliens" the attitude towards humans are: "We are simply better, and don't you dare argue with us." Arcadian Elves are also called the High Elves, and are the result of Pelagasiri and Fair Elf intermarriage and interbreeding. They call themselves High because they believe that they have high culture. They are looking to create'' Arvandor '' in Arcadia, which is in Hellas, using the powers of the Arcane. Desert Elves are denizens of the desert beyond. They are elvish bedouins that wander desert lands and have pitched their tents in the wilderness from time to time. Massalian Elves are from the Fair Elven colony of Massalia and have built themselves a civilization that rivals the Arcadian Elves. They bear a grudge against the Arcadian Elves and consider them to be their ancestral enemies. The Massalian Elves are the masters of fell Demonic Magic and are looking to create Arvandor in Massalia harnessing the power and blood of demons. Olivaen Elves from the Fair Elven colony of Olivae, and have built themselves a psionic civilization. They bear no ill will against other elves, and seek to recreate Arvandor in Olvinia using psionics and mental powers of the Mind. Pelagasiri Elves hail from the Dragon Mountains and the lands of the Kirpathian Sea. Considered to be “barbarians”, the Pelagasiri are often found in Phaeselis wearing loin cloths, harnesses, or thong bikinis. They are the first race after the deluge to master the production of steel. Male Pelagasiri tend to be heavily muscled and favor the axe, while females tend to be incredibly lean and favor the sword. Pelagasiri elves hope to recreate Arvandor by living in harmony with nature. Major Races Dragonborn Located around the cities of Zadracarta and Carpathios, the Dragonborn were conquered by Alexander in three amazing battles. Their warleader was captured and taken into slavery, and their chief village was captured. They are certainly related to dragons, having many dragon characteristics. They are very patriotic, and they seek to recreate their nation, not knowing that they actually come from another world through the Dragon Gate. Dwarves Although most call them “dwarves,” their own name for their race is Naines. Dwarves come in three flavors, Asiatic, European, and Dark. Asiatic dwarves have Asiatic features. They look like they could be from Babylon or Elam, and have straight hair. European looking dwarves have european looks, white skin and slightly curly hair. And the Dark Dwarves, known as the Duergar, are have darker features. There is another race, called derro, but no dwarf talks about them. The European dwarves are known as Iron Dwarves, while the Asiatic Dwarves are known as Bronze Dwarves . Halflings Although members of this race were originally called “quickling fae,” humans named them “halflings” due to their stature, and the name stuck. They are small, fair, and nimble, but their childish size does not carry with it a childish demeanor. Although originally considered a type of elf, they do not have much contact with other races of elves—in fact, they interact more with humans. Nomadic halflings often move about in roaming tribal caravans throughout the faraway lands of Bactria and Lydia. There is another race of what men call halflings however. They have blue skin, stand from three to four feet tall. They have only three fingers and an opposable thumb. They live somewhere in the mountains between Iberia and Gaul. Garou The garou are a race of wolfmen that inhabit the the more forested areas. While the more civilized forests seem to be the haven of the elves, the garou seems to represent the more wild places of forests to men. But nothing can be further from the truth. As civilized as men, the garou do build cities and habitations. Most of the garou in the Empire was conquered by Alexander the Great, nominally, but the wolf men inhabit the forests as if nothing has changed. Gnomes Frequently mistaken for halflings (or the other way around), gnomes are the rarest of the major races, particularly in Phoenicia. Unlike halflings, they are more likely to consort with elves than with humans. They favor song and magic over just about anything else, often combining the two (in fact, some call them “loresong fae”). They dwell throughout the lands of Avistan, Bactria, Sardis, and the Sea Kingdoms. Use the standard rules for gnomes with this race. Half-Elves and Half-Orcs Almost all of the Half-Elves in the city were the result of the Pelagasiri Elves sacking the city 50 years ago. The Pelagasiri came in, sacked the city, and took half the inhabitants back to the Dragon Mountains and the Kirpathian Sea into captivity as slaves. Many human women were raped, and the result were half-elves. Lemurians Lemurians are humans from an ancient, before time. They are obviously Awakened (capable of Psionics). They look unearthly beautiful, and have beautiful bodies. No one knows where they came from, or perhaps when! Nagaji The Nagaji are a race of snake-like humanoids that are disturbingly human in most things. Most Nagaji are the result of the Phaeselis Phalanx Garrison adventuring in the land of Aryavarta. To help the Aryano-Hellenistic Kingdoms, Phoenicia sent many of it’s Phalanxes to aid in the destruction of the Naga Kingdom. The adventure was successful, and the Phaeselis armies brought back 10,000 Nagaji as slaves. About five thousand of them have been freed and are now living in their own enclave in the Vedic quarter. Orcs Orcs are a noble tribe of humanoids with monstrous, simian faces with pointed tusks. Most are green, some are black. Others are a brownish mixture of green and black. Orcs come from another world and have left a legacy of empire. Now they are a collection of horse and wagon tribes that live on the steppes. Some of these tribes are savages, other tribes are not savage but all are considered barbarian. Minor Races Minor races do not impact the politics of a nation, much; or do not have a national identity. They may have tribal identities or live in scattered communities (like the Jews did in the Real World). Minor races usually have small populations in the world. Maenads Maenads are an emotional race. They are prone to mood swings and have minute crystals in their skin; making their skin gleam with a crystaline brillance in the sunlight. The maenads were created after a major explosion in their own lands. The explosion was successful in vaporizing an ancient Lich. Use the rules from Psionics Unleashed to create your Maenad character. Elans Elans are the result of a psionic ritual that is akin to creating a psionic lich. They can come from any race, but most are human. Currently Elans have auburne hair, and tend to look European. Proteans Proteans are able to change shape. They have no defined culture, able to adopt the culture of where they came from. They are often feared, although Proteans are often found in the red light district. They also are found amongst the Intelligence community. Litorians Once masters of the savanna far to the south and east and wanderers of the Land East, these felines are golden maned humanoids that have attained culture. Their way of life is a nomadic life in prides, although a Litorian here and there tries to fit in to human culture. Lizardfolk They all call them lizardfolk or Lizardmen, but their real names for themselves are the "Varissai." They are an iguana-like humanoid race that competes for space on the docks. Tuarens The minotaur people conquered by Alexander the Great are a peace loving people who maintain their animistic and shamanistic traditions. Most are found in the mountains, but a few can be found in the cities. NPC Races While by no means comprehensive, the following list includes some of the more predominant nonplayer character races involved in the Phoenicia Campaign. These races are unavailable as player character race choices without permission from the DM. Aasimars: Graced with celestial blood in their veins, these fortunate scions of blessed creatures have a representative of Heaven as part of their heritage. Elves, Dark: One must delve deep into elvish history to trace the origin of this splinter race of elvenkind. Mostly subterranean, dark elves are rarely seen, although the dwarves say their people fought great underground wars with them before the Archmeniad Conquest. Sadistic and cruel, they revere evil gods who urge them toward conquest and dominance. Serpent Folk: Strange, mysterious, and powerful, Serpent folk come from pre-historic times. Jealous of the warmblooded pink-skins (humans); for destroying their empire, they seek to reclaim their former, ancient prehistoric glory. [[Half-orc|'Half-orc']]s: Half-orcs are the descendants of orcs from the Dragontooth or the Frostwolf clans interacting with the city’s human population on occasion. Naga, True: 'true nagas are those that joined forces with the Hellenic Expeditionary Force to take their kingdom down. They are considered traitors, but the true nagas saw the writing on the wall. Their civilization became corrupt and feminine, and they left for a better future. They worship scaly gods of justice and righteousness. 'Tieflings: These individuals have fiendish blood flowing through their veins in some small but measurable quantity. Tieflings are a rare but significant force in Phaeselis. The Unwanted: The city also is home to goblins, ratmen, and other undesirable elements. Most people consider these creatures more of an infestation than true inhabitants, though. These “residents” contribute nothing to Phoenicia, but they prey on its populace, stealing what they need to live. Category:Player's Guide Category:Races Category:Races of Phaeselis